Kindred Lore: Ni Dieu ni Maître

“Ni dieu ni maître!” literally means “No gods, no masters“, and is an Anarchist slogan originating from the late 19th century. The term was originally coined by the French anarchist Louis Auguste Blanqui (1801-1881). He was the founder and editor of a journal with the name “Ni dieu ni maître!” (1880-1886). Also Friedrich Nietzsche used the term in his groundbreaking work “Beyond Good and Evil” (1886). Since the late 19th century the term (or its translated equivalent) is used by Anarchists around the world, but has also been adopted by other political movements and even became part of the pop culture, e.g. Punk bands adopted the slogan, as well as Metal bands later on.